Lunch & Shopping - With a Utah Sister!

[Kathi Lake]

I have been so busy lately - both at home and work, that this post may be a bit more terse than normal. Instead of my usual 7-8 posts to adequately tell you about my day, I may only take 5-6 - 7 tops! :)

I'll gloss over most of my pedicure story from yesterday. Let's just say that I went to a different salon. This one doesn't have a nice private room in the back. I was put in a salon chair right in the front of the store. It did give me pause - for about five seconds. The nail tech, a gorgeous twentysomething blond (which Utah is overflowing with), put me at ease even before she had her hands and lotions on me. She made me feel welcome and before I knew it, she had me pulling my pictures out and showing them to the girls there. "That's you?!" she gasped. "I would never guess that she's, ummm, you're a guy. Wait! You know what I mean" she continued. It was fun to make her squirm. :)

She did all the wonderful voodoo that is a pedicure. We then picked out a polish that was definitely fall-ish. Kind of a cross between purple and burgundy. Sounds strange, but looks really cute!

Anyway, she said that she wanted to see me dressed sometime. A few of the other girls echoed her. I asked her if she was working tomorrow (now today). She said yes, and I told her I would stop by.

That brings us to today. A few weeks ago, I added a new friend here to my account with the condition that we would have to go shopping sometime. She sent me an e-mail a few days ago saying she was ready to take me up on it. I had planned a shopping day today and asked her (ShayleeTV, by the way) if she would be available. We traded e-mails back and forth about favorite places to shop and eat. The plan was to meet at The Cheesecake Factory for lunch, followed by some shopping. Shaylee honored her spouse's boundaries (don't you love good marriages? :)) about dressing only inside the house, and met me in guy mode. I arrived first, if a bit late. Shaylee came in and asked if I was Kathi. We were shown to our table, which was a pretty visible one, right in the middle of everyone. I almost made a scene a few times as my heels kept slipping on their beautiful marble floor. It's hard to walk like a lady when all you can think of is ending up on your seriously non-padded keister.

As we sat down, the show began. Imagine a handsome gentleman, . . . and me - an ugly old crossdresser. I think Shaylee was probably more nervous to be seen with me. :)

Lunch was wonderful. Sure, we talked about crossdressing, but we're people too - not just crossdressers. We talked about our histories and our families - you know - normal people stuff. As we were eating, I noticed some interesting things. For one thing, no other customers gave us a second glance. I made so much eye contact with people and they just seemed oblivious. The employees, not so much. There seemed to be a never-ending stream of people who "just happened" to be sweeping or cleaning who would come over to our table, look at me, smile, and then go on their way. I'm sure someone tipped them off and they wanted to see for themselves.

After a nice lunch, we proved to the whole world that we definitely were not girls. Here we were at The Cheesecake Factory, and we skipped the cheesecake! :)

It was then time for shopping. That will be continued in the next post. I have a sound check for an event in about 15 minutes. So, more of one of my usual long-winded posts will come in a bit. Oh, pictures too (Duh! I am a crossdresser, after all :)).

Kathi

[Miranda09]

Sounded like a nice lunch Kathi, but next time, have a slice of cheesecake!!!! You can handle it. :)

[paulaN]

I was at the Cheesecake factory near Boston a month ago (in drab) boo hoo. Anyway I did have some cheesecake. I had the red velvet cheesecake I want you to know it was to die for. So next time save room for desert, ok.
Now I think it is so cool the you got too go to lunch with a sista. I have met a few sista's myself and your story (so far) makes me want to go out with some sista friends again.
Way to go kathi and Shaylee.

[angpai30]

I'm a utah crossdresser as well and I think it is fabulous that you went and had lunch together even though she was in male mode!! I have been looking for someone to dress up with and even help me with my makeup, but I really don't have any and am looking for some good makeup that is cheap and easy to remove that will stay on through the wear and tear~~

Hannah

[Persephone]

More please.

[Kathi Lake]

Oh yeah, I skipped forwards a bit. I'll start with my morning.

Since my wife is away again, I did the usual "get the kids up, dressed, fed and to school mom thing", and came back to the house. I brushed my wig out (about time for a new one. This one is getting a bit straggly), did my makeup, attached my forms, got dressed and was out the door.

My first stop was the bank for some shopping funds. I was helped by a very nice guy. He went out of his way to treat me like any other customer. The branch manager came out of her little cubicle when she saw me in line and asked if I was going shopping again. Wow, do I really go that often? :)

After the bank, I went to the salon to show Bridget, the girl who did my pedicure yesterday, what I look like dressed. When I walked in, since she was at the front chair, she saw me immediately. She left her customer and walked over to me, grinning. She said that I looked even better than my pictures, complimented me on my outfit, and agreed with the manager that I was a tiny, skinny little thing. Skinny I'll agree to, but tiny? I'm over 6 foot in my pumps. Tiny isn't the first word that would pop into my head. They asked me what I was doing that day. I told them that I was going to lunch and a little shopping. Bridget said I was a lucky girl to have a wife that took care of me so well. The manager said, "Lucky?! I'd call her spoiled - and she looks like she fits the part!"

They wished me a pleasant day and I was off to my friends at Ulta. I walked in to a chorus of "ooooohs." I asked them if my outfit was too much - my new black pants, dark red pumps and my long red turtleneck, with my grandmother's pearls and pearl earrings. They said that no, it was perfect. I got the usual grief from them on my size. Britney said that my pants were too cute and wondered if they had them in her size - size 14 - one pair for each cheek. :) Of course, I don't think she's bigger than a 6.

In the middle of a chat about something or other, Britney interrupted with an "Oh my God!" and grabbed my hand. I guess she noticed my new wedding set. It's a pretty silver engagement solitaire and wedding band set. The girls fussed over it and Britney jokingly said, "You're starting to scare me. You're more woman than a lot of women in this store. Are you just going to go "poof" and turn into a girl one day?" I told them that I had simply felt bad about not wearing a wedding ring when I was out and about, so I got this set. Britney said, "You're so cool! Girl, you rock!"

About that time, I noticed a woman wearing an incredibly cute pair of boots. I said something to the girls about it. Bitney said "Were they brown? Yeah, I saw then when she came in." I told the girls to hang on and went to ask the lady where she got them. I walked up behind her and said, "Excuse me ma'am, but those boots are just too cute! Where did you get them?" She said she got them about three years ago from Dillards and that they were Fry's. She then asked me where I got my shoes, thus completing the obligatory social dance. :)

I kept having a few strays falling in front of my face. Britney asked Jen, one of the stylists if she could take me back and use a little product to fix my hair a bit. Jen said, "Oh, so she can look even more perfect?" As I went back with Jen, she said, "Why is it that you always seem to waltz in here with your perfect little ass and your little size 0 hips when I'm having one of my fat days?" Can't you gain some weight and not make the rest of us feel so ugly by comparison?" I reminded her that my wife has already made that request numerous times, and that I'm doing the best I can. All I got from her was a laugh and a "Whatever!" She sat me down, fussed with my hair a bit, added some pomade to the flyaway strands, and basically made my hair look perfect in about two minutes - something that I could never do no matter how long I tried. How do they do that?! :)

The girls asked me where I was planning on going shopping. I told them about my plans. Britney said, "OK, that's it! I've asked you and asked you. Not that your clothes aren't always adorable, but you need a shopping buddy." She made me promise to give her advance warning when I would have a "Kathi Day" next and she would take off so we could go shopping together. The manager chimed in that she wanted to go as well. Since I missed the last girls night out with them a week ago for one of their birthdays, that girl wanted to get in on the deal as well. Gee, getting to go out with a flock of beautiful women. Where were these girls in High School? :)

I left Ulta, after being doused in a new perfume - the manager's new favorite (I think it's called Idol) and drove to The Cheesecake Factory to meet Shaylee. That brings us up to the present, since I spoke of lunch in the previous post.

Next post will be about our quick shopping trip.

Kathi

[Kathi Lake]

As Shaylee and I were leaving the restaurant, I got whistled at. I'm sure that the person did it as a joke, but hey - a whistle is a whistle, right?

We went into the mall and headed for Nordstrom (it's like one of those "bug light" things. I'm simply drawn to it. :)). We looked around the shoes a bit, talking the whole time. It was good to hear about Shaylee's experiences - and she has plenty! Seeing nothing really try-on worthy (except for some $660.00 Jimy Choos. Sigh), we went upstairs. I bumped into the lady that helped me with the black pants a few weeks ago. I had to get her attention before she recognized me. She said I looked great and that my pants looked very cute. I told her the seamstress did a great job.

We looked around the racks, talking as we walked. I found a very cute sheath in an ivory and black herringbone pattern. A SA that I had worked with before noticed that I was holding it and asked me if I would like to try it on. I asked her to start a room for me and asked her if she had any shrugs or cardigans. She said she would round up a few and add them to the room. At this point, Shaylee asked how many of the women in Nordstrom knew about me. I said that I recognized three or four that happened to be there that day. What can I say? I like to shop! :)

After chatting for awhile about common interests, Shaylee and I parted ways so I could start trying on clothes. Let me say now how good it was to meet another sister. It was great to hear how our common bonds have shaped us into who we now are. I only hope that one day my wife and I can come to the acceptance that Shaylee and her spouse have.

As I was on my way back to my room, I saw this incredible sweater. It was kind of a waffle-style fabric (lots of depressions) in beautiful, gorgeous browns and steel blues. It was so pretty that I didn't even look at the price tag. It was a small, but I didn't let that deter me. There were some camis that went with it, so I grabbed the smallest that they had (a medium), and went back to the room.

First, I tried on the dress. Oh wow, it was cute! I tried it with a three-quarter sleeve black cardigan and my red pumps. I walked out of the room and of course my door immediately locked. I went to the lighted three-way where the seamstress usually is to take a peek. Wow, sometimes you get lucky and you fall in love with the first thing you see. I clicked on out to the floor. Two SA's converged on me, telling me how cute it was. They had me turn around, and told me the usual lies ("Oh, that dress looks perfect on you!" and "I wish I could look as good in that as you" and "It's not fair that a guy can look that good in a dress!"), but I accepted them as part of the SA Dance anyway.

I went back, after the lady helping me unlocked my door an changed into the cami and sweater. Wow, was it cute! It would look perfect with some jeans and some cute boots. I took a gander at the price tags and gulped. $149.00 for the sweater and $89.00 for the cami. It was cute, but it wasn't that cute. I changed back into my normal clothes and the SA asked what I decided. I said that the dress was a definite, but the sweater would have to wait for another day. The dress was normally $169.00, but had been marked down to $56.00. I love bargains!

I thanked the SA once again for always being nice to me. She said that all of the "downtown girls" are used to me and others like me. She said that she was always glad to see me since, "you're always so nice and you always look so beautiful. You make me feel plain!" I thanked her for the compliments, paid, grabbed my dress and went downstairs.

I took another look at the shoe department and saw the two that helped me last time - the pretty blond girl and the guy that helped me the first time. The girl's outfit was incredible. How can they put together things that really shouldn't go together, and yet do - and stunningly so?! She had a gray asymmetrical top, a charcoal mini, dark patterned tights and a pair of caramel leather pumps. I know it sounds terrible, but believe me, it was working! She said my outfit was beautiful, asked me where I got my sweater, recognized the pumps (she should, since she sold them to me), and asked me if I was looking for anything. At this point, I wasn't ready for a marathon shoe try-on session, so I told her I was just browsing. Seeing nothing, I wished her a great day and went to the bathroom before I left the mall.

On the first floor, they have a men's room, and a ladies/family restroom. It was occupied, so I waited. A forty-something lady wearing an upscale sweats outfit walked up, smiled at me and, when the door opened, walked in. I thought, "Well, I guess I can wait." As the door was closing, she caught it and said, "Is this the only ladies room? Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, I was thinking to myself how pretty you were and just I walked right by you. Here, you go ahead." I thanked her, went inside, did my business quickly and opened the door. She was by the mirror, fixing her lipstick. She said, "You motivated me, cutie. I brushed my hair and fixed my makeup a bit. We can't have you upstaging all of us." I thanked her, shyly. She said that I was incredibly beautiful, and if I hadn't spoken, she would never have guessed. I thanked her and went on my way.

On the way out, I stopped at the MAC counter. Not seeing any artists I recognized, I browsed for a bit. Three twenty-something hotties walked towards me. I smiled at all three. After they passed me, one of them said, "Wow, she's tall!" Another one said, a few seconds later, "Oh my gosh! She's a man!" The first one said "No way." I turned around, looked at them, raised my eyebrows and nodded. They all laughed, but in a good, surprised way (at least, that's how I remember it).

I left the mall and went across the street to Talbots. Sadly, nothing really new was there. It was now around 3:30 - time to get going home. I know if I went where I wanted to go (White House/Black Market) that I'd never make it home. :)

I drove towards home, but stopped off at Ulta first. Most of the girls were still there. Britney asked me what I got. I told her about the dress. She asked where I got it from. I told her Nordstroms. She said "Oh, rub it in my face, you little snot! You know how much I like Nordstrom!" She said that she had talked to some of the other girls, and that we would have a bunch to go on my next trip. She said that it was also a good thing that I missed the last girls night out as many of them had gotten "very sloppy" and that they were all drunk enough to suddenly remember what was underneath all my pretty clothes. Yikes!

I suddenly remembered that I hadn't taken a picture all day. I asked Britney if she would take a picture of me in my outfit. She took a near full-length shot and said it looked good. Then, she zoomed in ("Gotta get the girls" she said) and took another.

I told Britney that it was time for me to go home and began the sad process of turning back into a pumpkin. She said, "Remember, you always have a glass slipper here." Awwwww. Aren't friends great! :)

I drove home, put all of my stuff away and bid farewell to Kathi until next time. Can I just say how much I love doing this? Can I say how much comfort it gives me? In a world that seems to get crazier by the day, it's nice to know that we have a place of retreat from that male-dominated world. A place where we can, for a time, be who and what we want. I like that world!

Below is the only picture I have for now since I can't find my card reader. Sorry for the cruddy camera phone picture!

Kathi

[Miranda09]

You know Kathi, I'm going to have to make a trip to Utah just to go shopping with you some day. Your shopping sprees always sound like so much fun. Nice pic btw. :)

[Kathi Lake]

You know Kathi, I'm going to have to make a trip to Utah just to go shopping with you some day. Your shopping sprees always sound like so much fun. Nice pic btw. :)Hey, come on down! As I have often said, everyone here is pretty friendly. We can even have some cheesecake this time.

:)

Kathi

[Persephone]

Are you just going to go "poof" and turn into a girl one day?"

As I went back with Jen, she said, "Why is it that you always seem to waltz in here with your perfect little ass and your little size 0 hips when I'm having one of my fat days?" Can't you gain some weight and not make the rest of us feel so ugly by comparison?"

Hi Kathi!

As usual, loved hearing about your day. You go girl!

And I have news for you -- that "poof" has already happened. Jen was not doing one of those GG to CD "put downs" that sound like compliments to untrained male ears. What she said was pure GG to another woman.

Some of the GG's here may disagree with me for that, but even they will have to admit that there are women who say or feel that way about other women.

You're already there.


The dress was normally $169.00, but had been marked down to $56.00. I love bargains!

Wow! You are definitely that woman that I always find in front of me at a sale, the one who snatches the last perfect item in my size. If I was a size 0 I'd probably trip you (and smile) on the way to the cashier.


The girl's outfit was incredible. How can they put together things that really shouldn't go together, and yet do - and stunningly so?! She had a gray asymmetrical top, a charcoal mini, dark patterned tights and a pair of caramel leather pumps. I know it sounds terrible, but believe me, it was working!

Understand completely. That drives me crazy! I think it has something to do with having enough experience so that you can begin to take risks. All I know is that I'm always way too afraid to attempt it and it sounds like you are in the same place.

On the other hand, we're trying to "blend in" and they can afford to stand out.


I drove home, put all of my stuff away and bid farewell to Kathi until next time. Can I just say how much I love doing this? Can I say how much comfort it gives me? In a world that seems to get crazier by the day, it's nice to know that we have a place of retreat from that male-dominated world. A place where we can, for a time, be who and what we want. I like that world!

I remain always amazed at the way you can weave insightful fabric out of the warp and woof of words.


Below is the only picture I have for now since I can't find my card reader. Sorry for the cruddy camera phone picture!

Kathi

As always, you look great!

[shayleetv]

Now I wish I had a camera to take our picture of our adventure yesterday.
Lost opportunities!!!! Kathi you will know about what I taking about, I've had too many of them. Live to the fullest then there won't be missed opps. loved the day and I'm sure glad we got together.

[Teri Jean]

Kathi, I to have had a wonderful time with a friend of mine her in Minnesota and we had lunch out before I went in foe my first therapy session for trasitioning. Pam and I met at Noodles for salads and talk. The staff were great and the customers were polite if not uncaring. But the time was great.

Huggs Teri

[Miranda09]

Hey, come on down! As I have often said, everyone here is pretty friendly. We can even have some cheesecake this time.

:)

Kathi

Oh now you did it...you waved that Cheescake Factory cheesecake at me!!!! Mmmmmmmm, so good!!!! :)

[Sally2005]

I think it is just awsome how these women have taken you under their wings and have become friends with you. In your photos I can see how happy you look!

[PretzelGirl]

Okay, now we are getting a lot of us in Utah (regardless of how people's impression of this state are).

As much as you have broken in the girls in at Ulta, I may have to see them to straighten out my poor selection of coloring. My wife brought up a makeover once so that is a possibility. You are going to have the whole state as easy pickings for the rest of us in no time! :daydreaming:

[Christina Horton]

On the other hand, we're trying to "blend in" and they can afford to stand out.




Blend in Haw , I could care less about blending in. I wear what I want to and if that stand out then I love it more. I now have bright red hair and love that to. I did at first want to blend in but then I figured out that since I don't pass whats the point to try to look like all the other girls. I wear what I want and if that make me stand out then well, that's me. I love the spot light . If I could have a TV show or a movie I would love to be the star and I love that kind of thing to. But that's me.

Plus if people see a CD in the mall , or the gas station , bank etc and they find I am well dressed and a nice person then I have given them a good view of CDs and maybe they will take a positive away and not think bad of us in the future.

[vivianann]

Hey Kathi, I am so glad that you are proving that Salt Lake is a safe place to crossdress, I travel to Salt Lake alot for business and go everywhere enfemme, and the peaple especially GG's are very accepting, and welcoming.
Hope to see you again Kathi, and next time I will be enfemme also.